Lynn Anderson Album: “Anthology, Vol. 2: The Chart Years”

I had been looking for the song "If I Kiss You" for many years. When I finally found and purchased the CD I was pleasantly surprised with the other tracks. I had forgotten about "No Another Time", which was one of my favorites in college, and "Big Girls Don't Cry". Lynn's renditions of "Rocky Top" and "I've Been Everywhere" are good. The liner notes are good and I have a new appreciation for the song writing abilities of Lynn's mother, Liz. I will probably wear this CD out, the tracks are so good and bring back good country memories, in fact I am playing it now. By the way, I must be the only person on the planet who did not like the crossover hit "Rose Garden". However, in this album (before that era) Lynn's Pure County voice shines. Thanks to Renaissance/Sony Music Special Products.

This collection of hits is from early in Lynn's career when she recorded on the Chart label. Some of her best recordings were from those days and every chart topper is included in this collection. This is the first time that the ORIGINAL recordings of these songs have been available on CD. I have waited for many years for these songs to become available on CD and this collection makes it well worth the wait. The best of the best are here. "I'm Alright", "Rocky Top", "That's A No-No" and many others including her breathtaking (literally) version of "I've Been Everywhere." If you love Lynn's music like I do, or just love country music, this CD is a must!

Although Lynn achieved her greatest successes in the early seventies with Columbia records, her sixties recordings for the small Chart label were every bit as good. This is the only compilation of that music so far released on CD.

Rocky top is perhaps the most important track here. This often-covered song was a top 20 country hit for her despite competition from the Osborne brothers. Ride ride ride was Lynn's first recording for Chart, while other notable recordings include If I kiss you, No another time and Big girls don't cry.

Lynn also recorded plenty of covers back then. Among those included here are I've been everywhere (Hank Snow), It wasn't god who made honky tonk angels (Kitty Wells), All my friends are gonna be strangers (just titled Strangers in the track listing - Merle Haggard) and Auctioneer (Leroy Van Dyke). All these are, of course, brilliant.

These recordings are very similar in style to Lynn's seventies music, but if anything are more solidly country. Buy this if you can find it.

This is the most important country reissue collection in years - the early hits of one of country music's greatest stars of the 60's & 70's Lynn Anderson, available for the first time in well over 25 years! Lynn was just eighteen years old when she signed on with the small Chart label (her mom, Liz Anderson, was then one of the top women singers in country) and Lynn took off like a rocket. Barely a year after her first record was released the Academy of Country Music named her Top Female Vocalist! She is certainly one of the most important women to ever sing country and one of the most influential bringing in a more pop and contemporary sound to the music. These are all great tracks and this is an invaluable collection of her 1966-70 work when she was the No. 3 woman in the country field behind only Loretta and Tammy.

This particular song of Ms. Anderson's is particularly upbeat, and pop like. If you like Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire", you'll hear similarily in the instrumental presentation. It was Very hard to track down this song, as it was released in the sixties on vinyl. The cost of the CD was hefty, but I had to have it. With her vocal cords and talent, everything she sings is excellent.